South Africa 160 (PIedt 38*, Bedingham 28, Joseph 5-33, Seales 3-45) and 246 (Verreynne 59, Markram 51, Seales 6-61) beat West Indies 144 (Holder 54*, Mulder 4-32, Burger 3-49) and 222 (Motie 45, Maharaj 3-37, Rabada 3-50) by 40 runs
South Africa secured a 10th successive Test series win against West Indies, and earned a vital second win in the World Test Championship 2023-25, with a hard-fought 40-run victory in Guyana. In the process, Keshav Maharaj became the leading spinner in their Test history, with 171 wickets including five in this match and 13 in the series. His success eclipsed an exceptional effort from Jayden Seales, who took 12 wickets across the two matches and a career-best 6 for 61 in South Africa’s second innings in Guyana.
Seales’ ensured West Indies were left with a gettable, but tough, target of 263 and their chase had all the makings of a classic. They slumped to 104 for 6, before a 77-run stand between hometown hero Gudakesh Motie and Joshua da Silva put them within sight of a historic victory. Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada, South Africa’s two most reliable bowlers on the tour, denied the hosts despite a fighting effort from the tail.
In a series that was tough for batters overall with no centuries across the two matches, no West Indian got a second-innings half-century and they had only one partnership above fifty in the match. Contrastingly, two South African batters got fifties in the second innings and they had three half-century stands in the match. The 63-run tenth-wicket stand between Dane Piedt and Nandre Burger in the first innings proved decisive in the context of the match.
Overall, it was a series for the bowlers, who benefitted from a surface that was tough for run-scoring in Trinidad and a venue with swing, seam movement and good bounce in Guyana. Shamar Joseph enjoyed his first home Test with 5 for 33 in the first innings but a collective effort from South Africa’s attack gave them the edge where it mattered most.
